Rakes for landscaping, soil spreading, soil leveling and other purposes are commercially available. Typically, these rakes are designed to be pulled by a tractor or other vehicle. In the past, simply mounting a rake directly behind the tractor often presented problems because the tines of the rake simply continued to dig deeper and deeper into the ground as the tractor moved forward. Some have mounted one or two wheels behind the rake in an attempt to support and stabilize it. But this has also not proven to be satisfactory because it does not fully stabilize the rake. In particular, the system does not fully compensate for the motion of the tractor (or prevent the rake from being pulled in unexpected directions) as the tractor moves up and down over uneven ground.
For example, in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 1, if a two-wheel rear support system is used with a rake, and if one sets the wheels higher than the rake, then as the rake scrapes sand or dirt away, it leaves a void behind it, because the wheels cannot catch up to the rake. As a result, the rake keeps digging deeper. With the prior art two-wheel system, the operator cannot control the depth he or she wishes to rake. Therefore, the operator must set the depth for raking by using a three-point hitch or other attachment device on the tractor.
A problem with this arrangement is that the ability to rake smoothly depends solely on the tractor's ability to stay completely level, which it does not. The back wheels of the tractor become a pivot point like a seesaw. If the front wheels go over a bump or a high spot on the ground, it will raise the front of the tractor and lower the back, and the rake with it, causing the rake to dig in deeper. If the front wheels hit a rut or low spot, it causes the front of the tractor to dip down, raising up the rake, and dumping some of the material the operator is raking, which will create high spots and uneven ground.
Even in rakes having a third wheel mounted near the front of the rake, such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,996, the rake is not entirely stable relative to the ground because only the center portion of the rake is fully supported. Thus, tines near the ends of the rake have a tendency to be forced up and down as rocks or other hard debris pass under them or get stuck in the tines.
Therefore, a need exists for a system for fully stabilizing a tractor-pulled rake system so that raking may be done smoothly despite uneven ground conditions. A need also exists for a rake system that is easily removable from the tractor and easily adjustable for all types of soil conditions and raking applications.